News

In testimony before a House subcommittee today, Kitty Simonds, the Executive Director of the Western Pacific Regional Fishery Management Council (WPRFMC) labeled the increasing number and size of marine monuments a "major impediment" to U.S.

One application currently being tested is whether drones can be used to drop feed to rebait automated traps to catch feral pigs. Another is using unmanned aircraft to help count cattle.

Hunting bans and other conservation efforts may be paying off — though warming oceans remain a serious threat.Click on the link below to read the full article. 

In July 2017, the South Pacific nation of the Cook Islands made a bold bid to convert its entire territorial waters, the exclusive economic zone (EEZ), into a mixed-use marine protected area. Click on the link below to read the full article. 

The guide is designed to support local entrepreneurs in developing and launching green businesses in Vanuatu, helping to achieve Vanuatu’s climate change and environmental goals. Click on the link below to read the full article. 

Prosecutors in New Caledonia have opened an official inquiry into the stranding of an abandoned ship in a marine reserve. Click on the link below to read the full article. 

Fisheries Minister Jonathan Wilkinson unveiled new standards for marine protected areas in Canada on Thursday, fully prohibiting oil-and-gas activity, as well as mining, waste-dumping and bottom-trawling. Click on the link below to read the full article. 

Last year, Fisheries and Oceans Canada appointed an independent National Advisory Panel of experts to consult Canadians about marine protection standards. Following extensive consultations in all regions of the country, the Panel delivered its report to the Government on September 26, 2018.

The government's report on the state of the environment estimates the economic losses associated with soil erosion and landslides is at least $250 to $300 million a year. Click on the link below to read the full article. 

To improve access to, and use of data for environment reporting, representatives from FSM, Palau, Kiribati, and Samoa attended and participated in a South-South knowledge exchange and capacity building workshop held at SPREP Headquarters from 8-12 April.